Stand Up For Yourself
by abhorrible
Summary: Karkat Vantas endures the bullies of highschool, until he meets Gamzee Makara. Typical Highschool AU
1. Chapter 1

Your name is Karkat Vantas and your face is currently being smashed into the dirt by a foot.

It's the last day of your freshman year before winter break, and the juniors thought it was a good idea to make this day 'memorable'. The foot lifts from your face and you hear voices beginning to drift away, so you open your eyes. Bad choice.

"Have a good break, _VANTAS." _The blonde boy in sunglasses hisses, giving you one last kick in the ribs. You curl in on yourself as he walks away, sucking in breath. Hot tears sting your eyes, but you push them back, keeping them at bay; until you get home anyway.

You slowly push yourself up from the ground, everything hurting. You sit on the ground for a moment, and then sigh heavily, standing. You collect your books off the ground where they had been thrown, and look around for your backpack.

You finally spot it hanging from a branch in a tree. You just sigh and let your head fall forward, chin pressing into your chest. You turn around with your books in your arms, going to put them in your locker, but stop short. When you turn, there's a tall darkly tanned guy standing there, hair wild and tangled.

"You need some help there bro?" he asks, voice slow and lazy.

Before you have a chance to answer he's sauntered over and pulled your bag from the tree. He holds it out to you, open, and you drop your books inside before snatching it away from him.

"Thanks…" You mutter almost inaudibly before turning one your heels and walking away.

"Aw, where ya going bro?" you hear him call out, but continue walking, ignoring him.

You miss the last bus by seconds, and frustrated, you throw your bag at the ground. It was at _least_ a half hour walk to your house from school, and your dad always worked late into the night. No chance of him picking you up. Better get walking then.

You pick up your bag and a small paper falls from one of the outside pockets. You unfold it and read what's written there.

In messy handwriting, quickly scribbled, is 'terminallyCapricious'. It takes you a moment to realize it, but this must be the other boys Pesterchum handle. You wonder when he had the chance to slip it onto your bag; you were watching him the whole time.

You stick your hands in your jacket pockets as you begin to walk, defending from the chill that was settling over your city as winter slowly approached. Maybe it would snow this year? It always got cold enough to, but it never actually did.

Your cellphone vibrates in your pocket, and you're suddenly glad you kept it there rather than in your backpack. You pull it out and check your text messages. Dad was working later than usual. What a surprise. You close the message and open the Pesterchum app, seeing if anyone was online. There was one person, but you really didn't feel like talking to her.

You go ahead and add terminallyCapricious to your chum-list, and his icon lights up. He was online. You'd talk to him later.

You finally reach your house and pull the key out from under the doormat, unlocking the door and going inside. You can hear a light tapping, the sound of someone typing on a keyboard.

"You are aware that you have your own house, right?" You yell through the house.

"Tho what? Yourth ith better." Comes the lispy reply from the living room. That was Sollux Captor, your brother in everything but blood. You walk into the room, dropping your bag on the floor as you walk, and crash on the couch next to him.

"God KK, you look horrible." He says, glancing up from the glowing computer screen.

And you feel worse than you look for sure. "I know. I'm going to take a shower." you say, pulling yourself up from the couch. You stumble up the stairs to the bathroom, muscles stiffening form the few moments of rest. Locking the door behind you, you pull off the large sweater and long sleeve shirt, assessing your bruises in the mirror. Here and there a few had small scabs over the top, where you'd been hit so hard the skin broke. But they managed to keep them all below the neck.

They knew you wouldn't let anyone know you were hurting. They knew that no matter how many bruises you had on your arms, you'd always cover them up. Even in the summer. No one would know.

You adjust the water and step into the warm jets, letting them work away at the stress and tightness in your muscles. It did nothing to soothe the cuts or bruises though. You'd take an aspirin after you got out of the shower.

You run shampoo through your red curly hair, getting rid of the dirt in it. You never thought this would happen. You had been mostly ignored all through elementary and middle school, but now suddenly, you're the target. The fun one to beat on. You just didn't understand why. You shut the water of with a sigh, stepping out of the shower. Your hair drips down your back as you grab a towel, wrapping it around your waist. You crouch down; looking in the cabinet under the sink for the little bottle of aspirin that you knew was under there. That you had put under there just for occasions like this. That was almost empty from occasions like this.

You pull the bottle out, and remove the red cap, dumping two of the little pills into your hand. You put the cap back on before popping the pills in your mouth and swallowing them down with a glass of water.

You finish drying yourself off, and cross the hall to your bedroom. You pull on your loose pajama pants, decorated with little happy crabs, and a sweatshirt. Before heading back downstairs, you grab your laptop, unplugging it from its charger.

Once downstairs, you reclaim your spot on the couch, and open your laptop. You open Pesterchum again, deciding it's time to finally talk to that guy. You click his handle, opening a new conversation.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began pestering terminallyCapricious [TC]

CG: WHY'D YOU GIVE ME THIS?  
TC: GiVe WhO wHaT?  
CG: ME. WHY'D YOU GIVE ME YOUR HANDLE?  
TC: Oh, I jUsT tHoUgHt A mOtHeRfUcKeR cOuLd UsE sOmEoNe To TaLk To  
CG: I HAVE PLENTY OF PEOPLE TO TALK TO.  
TC: WeLl NoW yOu HaVe AnOtHeR :o)  
TC: HoNk  
CG: WHATEVER. I'M KARKAT. KARKAT VANTAS.  
TC: GaMzEe MoThErFuCkInG mAkArA bRo :o)  
CG: OKAY. WELL. I GUESS I'LL GO NOW.  
TC: SeE yA rOuNd

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased pestering terminallyCapricious [TC]

You take a glance at your chum list before another conversation pops up.

gallowsCalibrator [GC] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

GC: K4RK4T!  
CG: TEREZI.  
GC: WH4TS UP?  
CG: JUST GOT HOME. WHAT'S MISS BLIND-DRAGON-GIRL DOING?  
GC: TH4T W4S M34N K4RK4T  
GC: 1 4M THOROUGHLY OFF3ND3D  
CG: OH MY GOD.  
CG: YOU KNOW I DIDN'T MEAN IT. CAN'T YOU *SMELL* MY SINCERETY?  
GC: :( TH4TS 3V3N M34N3R  
GC: 1 C4N SM3LL YOUR S4RC4SM THOUGH  
CG: HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY READ THIS? DO YOU HAVE A LITTLE VOICE THAT READS IT ALL FOR YOU?  
CG: OR ARE YOU JUST SHITTING ME ABOUT BEING BLIND AND HAVING A GREAT TIME LAUGHING AT ME FOR BELIEVING YOU ALL THESE YEARS.  
GC: HOW M4NY T1M3S W1LL 1 H4V3 TO T3LL YOU TH1S? 1M L3G4LLY BL1ND BUT 1T DO3SNT M34N 1 C4NT S33 4NYTH1NG  
GC: 1 JUST H4V3 TO G3T R34LLY CLOS3  
GC: BUT 4NYW4Y 1V3 GOT TO GO YOU SHOULD COM3 V1S1T M3 SOON! 1TS W4RM3R DOWN H3R3 4T TH3 B34CH 4NYW4Y!  
CG: BYE.  
CG: (THAT DOES ACTUALLY SOUND NICE. THE WARM I MEAN. NOT SEEING YOU.)  
GC: WH4T3V3R :P

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

That was Terezi Pyrope, your blind friend who claims to smell colors, among other things. You met her on summer vacation one year, at the beach in Florida. You two had hit if off right from the start, when she tripped over you in the sand, then tried licking you.

You shut your laptop, setting it on the coffee table. You grab the remote for the TV and click it on to some sitcom, then pull the blanket off of the back of the couch, curling up to watch the show.

"Who wath it today?" Sollux asks quietly, also watching the show.

"Who else? Strider and his posse."

"I'm thorry KK. I wish I could help…"

"Can't you like, blow their computer up or something with your hacker skills?"

Sollux begins to laugh quietly, and slowly it gets louder. You try and block out the noise, intent on your show, but it's just too much. His laughter is too contagious.

Several minutes later you're both laying in a pile, tangled in the blanket, laughing together.


	2. Chapter 2

Sollux left about an hour later, around 8 o'clock. Several minutes later your dad pulls up in the driveway. You though he said he was working late today? Whatever, you shouldn't complain about good things. If this was even able to be considered good.

"Dad?" you call as he walks through the door, making sure it's him.

"Yes?"

"Why are you home so early? I though you were working late?"

"I thought I was too. They let me go home early today." You stand and follow his voice to the kitchen, sitting at the round table. He busies himself with making something to eat, only for himself though. He never thinks about you anymore.

"Oh, I talked to Terezi today, and she suggested I go down to visit her over winter break."

"When do you need to be back by?"

"Well, I got off of school today, and we have a two week break. I was thinking of going down for the second week, spending New Years down there and getting back on Sunday before school?"

"Hm…" your dad turns back to his half made sandwich, pondering over your proposal. "I suppose that would work. We'll book you a plane ticket tomorrow."

"Thanks dad." You say, and head back up to your bedroom, snatching your laptop from the living room on your way. Once there you fall onto your crab covered bedspread, and open your laptop. Might as well let her know.

You open Pesterchum, seeing her icon set to idle. You'll leave a message for her to see when she gets back.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC]

CG: OKAY, I'M COMING DOWN FOR NEW YEARS.  
CG: SO NEXT WEEK.  
CG: IF THAT'S OKAY.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC]

You glance at the clock on your nightstand. It was only nine o'clock, but today has pretty well taken it out of you. Muscles you didn't even know you had ached, and your bruised skin was protesting movement.

You shut your laptop and set it on the floor next to your bed before standing and crossing the hall to the bathroom. You relieve yourself and take another aspirin, the effects of the last one wearing off.

Yawning, you cross the hall back to your bedroom, flicking the lights off as you go, and climb into bed. You toss and turn, unable to appease your bruises in any position you try. Finally you sit up, and pull your knees to your chest. You still failed to understand why it was you of all people Dave had to pick on. There were plenty of other kids, ones who actually deserved it. You had never hurt Dave; which you know of anyway. And you certainly weren't annoying or bothersome. You had maybe two people you actually talked to in the whole school.

Wait, three now including Gamzee. Big fucking achievement.

Sighing, you pick your laptop up, nothing better to do, right? You boot up the laptop, glancing at the clock. It was already midnight? You had been lying there a lot longer than you realized. You go to open your internet browser, but are interrupted quite rudely by a new conversation.

arachnidsGrip [AG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

AG: Karkaaaaaaaat!  
AG: Shouldn't you 8e asleep mister?  
CG: SHOULDN'T YOU?  
AG: Its only 9 here in Arizona. You always forget a8out that don't you?  
CG: WELL I DON'T EXACTLY STALK MY FRIENDS.  
AG: St8lk? Its not ST8LKING!  
AG: I'm simply making sure my friends are okay!  
CG: VRISKA.  
CG: YOU KNOW MY EXACT ADDRESS AND WHEN I GET OFF OF SCHOOL.  
CG: TELL ME THAT'S NOT SOME FORM OF STALKING.  
AG: I'm simply keeping track of my friends.

This is Vriska Serket. One of the most possessive people you have possible ever known.

AG: Is that so 8ad?  
CG: BAD… I GUESS NOT.  
CG: CREEPY AS HELL? YES.  
AG: Wh8tever.  
AG: Aaaaaaaanyway, what caused you to stay up so late?  
CG: OH, UH.  
CG: JUST A BIT STRESSED.  
AG: Stressed? Karkat, you can't lie to me.

Oh, did you forget to mention she has freaky psychic powers?

CG: HOLY FUCK. AGAIN WITH THE 'MIND CONTROL'?  
AG: I'm not making it up!  
AG: If only I could meet you in person to prove it.  
CG: NO. NOT HAPPENING.  
AG: See? This is why we can't have nice things.  
AG: You deny them to eeeeeeeeveryone.  
AG: No one gets the nice things.  
AG: Like friendship.  
CG: VRISKA.  
AG: No one is EVER allowed to EVER meet you, god forbid!  
CG: VRISKA. SHUT UP.  
CG: I JUST DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.  
AG: Hmph! Well I have to go then.  
AG: Snuggles needs some more crickets.

arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

Oh, and did you also forget to mention she's totally obsessed with spiders? She even has a pet tarantula named Snuggles. What kind of spider name is that? SNUGGLES?

It seems all of your friends are psychos. You sit, staring at your blank computer screen for several minutes before opening iTunes and turning on some music. You set your computer back on the floor, and lay down, letting the gentle music wash over you. Within minutes your eyes have drifted shut and you plunge into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

You slowly emerge from sleep, eyes itching and crusted. You sit up, rubbing them. Your body aches all over, the pain worse than when the wounds were actually inflicted. You stand from your bed, lurching across the hall to the bathroom.

You make a beeline into the cabinet and take more aspirin. You prop your elbows against the counter, and cup your chin in your hands. With a sigh, you push up a sleeve, looking at all of the bruises. They were scattered around, some dime sized, others visible hand prints from where they grab you and throw you around.

A knock on the door startles you and you quickly yank your sleeve back down. Who was it? Dad should be at work, and Sollux usually makes a racket.

"What?" you snip at the person as you open the door.

"Well good morning to you too." Sollux replies.

"Why are you in my house this early?" You ask, brushing past him into your bedroom.

"Well, I figured we could do thomething today."

"Like what?"

"I dunno, I figured you could pick thomething."

You fall onto your bed with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. You lay there for several minutes, staring at the ceiling, and Sollux crashes in your desk chair.

"I guess I need to do some Christmas shopping. "

"No thurprithe there. You alwayth wait till the latht minute to do thingth."

"Oh yea, you totally don't do that either." You say, standing and grabbing some clothes from your dresser. You head back across the hall, and change into a longsleeve black sweater and a pair of jeans. You grab your wallet from your room, noticing that Sollux had already gone downstairs. You join him and head down the street to the bus stop.

You COULD just walk to the mall, it wasn't that far, but it was so much easier to take a bus.

Several stops later, you and Sollux climb off of the bus, hands stuffed in your pockets. You walk inside, and the noise of many voices surrounds you. You begin walking aimlessly, running over the people you need to get gifts for in your head.

You need something for Sollux, but you won't be getting that now. Terezi probably wants something with dragons, knowing her. Might as well get something for Jade too, I mean, she's one of the only people who actually talks to you. And that's about it…

Oh, you should probably get something for your dad also. What would he even want?

"Tho are we just going to keep walking in thircleth? Or are you going to actually buy thomething?"

"Shut up, I was thinking about who I need to get things for. There's gotta be something you still need too."

"Nope. Finished all my shopping latht week." Sollux says, a smug smile splitting his face.

"Course you would have…" You mutter under your breath, stomping off to the next store, which seems to be a clothing store or some sort.

"What wath that?" Sollux asks sarcastically, following after you.


	4. Chapter 4

About an hour and a half later, you're walking through your front door, bags in hand. You shout your goodbyes to Sollux as you slam the front door shut with your foot. You march up to your bedroom, dropping the bags beside your door, arranging them in a neat line against the wall.

You grab one bag, and drag it over to your bed, emptying the contents on top of your bedspread. You arrange them, seeing what's there. A shirt you found for Terezi, and some colorful rings for Jade.

You repeat these steps with the other bags, ending with a total of 5 things on your bed.

Terezi's shirt, and a small stuffed dragon to go with it, Jade's rings and a sweater for her, and a mug for your dad. Your usual, tacky, Number One Dad mug. At least you can say you tried?

You move said items from your bed, onto your desk. You'll wrap them later.

You sigh, sitting on the edge of your bed. Your whole body was consumed by a terrible ache, and you stand to go get some aspirin.

You reach the bathroom, and grab the bottle, pouring two pills out. Something suddenly occurs to you, and you turn the bottle, reading the label.

_Do not exceed 6 tablets in 24 hours._

Oh shit, how many had you taken? You think back through the past day. You had taken… 5? You're pretty sure you had taken five.

God dammit. Guess you're just going to have to deal with the pain for tonight. You'd rather not end up in the hospital.

You sigh, crossing back to your bedroom before flopping down on your bed. You grab your laptop, and open Pesterchum. You just wanted someone to talk to right now. Someone you could trust.

Too bad you don't have anyone you trust.

But there were several people online to talk to. Including that Gamzee guy. You… aren't really sure how you feel about him yet. Sure, he helped you out, but does it really mean he wants to be your friend? What if he was one of Striders groupies, just playing some horrible joke?

Shrugging away the thought, you click open a chat with Terezi.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC]

CG: DID YOU GET MY MESSAGE ABOUT NEW YEARS?

GC: NO :?

CG: OH. WELL I'M FLYING DOWN THIS WEEKEND AND SPENDING THE WEEK THERE FOR NEW YEARS.

You hear the front door open, then shut again. Your dad was home.

CG: SPEAKING OF THAT, I SHOULD PROBABLY FIND OUT IF MY DAD ORDERED MY PLANE TICKET LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD.

CG: I'LL BE BACK.

You hop up off of your bed, heading down into the living room where your dad was, watching TV. You sit next to him, staring blankly at the TV, trying to figure out what exactly it was he was watching. It looked like some game show. There where people covered in white foam and being battered around, sitting on a cushioned log. His taste in shows confused you sometimes.

"So uh, dad, did you remember to order my plane ticket today?"

"Oh goodness. I completely forgot!" He replied after a moment more of TV watching.

"Could you order it tonight? I can go get my laptop…" You stand to go get it.

"Karkat, wait." You turn around, and your fathers patting the spot on the couch next to him. Oh god, no. Not another one of these.

"Yes?" You ask, cringing as he wraps his arm around your shoulder when you sit.

"Why are you so eager to be gone? You never seem to want to hang out with your old man anymore. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I get a new job so I have more time at home? What can I do Karkat? And don't just shrug me off this time young man!"

"Dad, there's nothing you did or didn't do. I'm just… A… Teenager?" You stumble for a short explanation, eager to free yourself from his grip as soon as possible. "Plus, I haven't seen Terezi in ages." You quickly worm your way out of his grip, dodging upstairs to get your laptop for him.

You walk back downstairs and sit at the opposite end of the couch, opening your Internet browser for him. For all the time he spends on the computer at work, you think he'd know how to operate one. You hand it over to him, and let him do his thing, while you watch more of his retarded show.

By the time he finished, you could have sworn your brain was oozing out of your ears from the sheer stupidity of the show.

"Here you go." He said, holding your computer out to you. As you take it from him, he snatches your wrist up, pulling you into a close hug. "You're quite skinny. Are you eating enough?"

"Dad! I'm fine!" You tell him, turning to go back up to your bedroom.

"I love you Karkat." He says as you turn the corner into the kitchen.

Why was he being so weird? He was usually nothing like this. You know he loves you, but he never expressed it so much, or worried about you like that. Did he know something was happening at school? Did someone tell him?

Oh shit, you hope that's not the case.

You shut your bedroom door and set your computer down on your desk, flopping into the chair.

CG: OKAY, I MADE HIM ORDER A TICKET JUST NOW. WE'RE SET ON MY END

GC: OK4Y

GC: DO YOU KNOW WH4T D4Y YOUR3 COM1NG DOWN?

CG: NO.

CG: LET ME ASK MY DAD WHAT DAY HE BOOKED THE TICKET FOR.

You swing around the doorframe into the living room, and stop.

Your dad is fast asleep, sprawled out on the couch. Were you really upstairs for that long? You grab the remote and turn off the TV; the sudden silence is overwhelming. You grab the blanket off the back of the couch and kind of bunch it up on top of your dad, spreading it out the best you can.

You sigh, and walk back upstairs.

CG: OKAY SCRATCH THAT.  
CG: MY DAD IS NOW ASLEEP.

GC: H4H4 TH4TS NOT SURPR1S1NG

GC: 1T 1S 11:30 4FT3R 4LL

CG: GODDAMN, IS IT REALLY?

GC: YOU H4V3 B3TT3R V1S1ON TH4N 1 DO

GC: T4K3 4 P34K 4T TH4T CLOCK

CG: ITS BEAUTIFUL. FULL OF VIBRANT COLORS. BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW. CAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE IT.

GC: FROM WH4T 1V3 S33N 4 CLOCK USU4LLY ONLY H4S TWO COLORS K4RKL3S 4ND TH4T BL4CK 4ND WH1T3

GC: BUT 1 WOULDNT M1ND TH4T R41NBOW CLOCK YOUV3 GOT

GC: SOUNDS T4ST3Y

CG: UGH. WHATEVER. I'M GOING TO BED NOW. MY HEADS STARTING TO HURT.

It wasn't a total lie, nor was it the total truth. At this point, your whole body hurts.

GC: BY3 K4RK4T

GC: S33 Y4 SOON!

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

You shut the chat window, and right as you go to shut your computer, a new chat pops up.

terminallyCapricious [TC] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TC: HeY BrOtHeR :o)

CG: THAT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU SAY TO EVERYONE ISN'T IT?

TC: CoUrSe bRo

TC: HoNk :o)

CG: WAS THERE AN EXACT REASON FOR MESSAGING ME?

There was no response for several minutes, and you begin to wonder if he's still even there.

CG: I WAS ABOUT TO GO TO BED.

TC: WoAh, SoRrY BrO! i aLl uP AnD FoRgOt wHaT I WaS AbOuT GoInG To dO.

TC: I WaS WoNdErInG If yOu'd wAnT To hAnG Or sOmE MoThErFuCk tOmOrRoW.

CG: SURE. WHATEVER.

TC: Aw, SwEeT BrO!

CG: WHERE DO YOU WANT TO MEET?

TC: I DuNnO, mAkEs nO DiFfErEnCe tO Me.

CG: HOW ABOUT LUNCH AT SHELBY'S DINER THEN.

CG: GOOD? GOOD.

CG: I'M GOING THE FUCK TO SLEEP NOW.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased pestering terminallyCapricious [TC]

You promptly log out of Pesterchum and shut down your computer. You turn out the light and flop onto your bed, staring at the ceiling. The past few days have suddenly caught up with you, and you're tired and in pain. You kick off your blue jeans before rolling onto your side and tucking your knees to your chest.

You fall asleep with surprising ease, rolling over only once before sleep engulfs you.


	5. Chapter 5

You sit up the next morning, eyes blurry and head pounding. You did NOT sleep well last night. At all. Today ought to be absolutely BRILLIANT. Speaking of that, you're supposed to meet someone today, weren't you? Who was it though?

You sit and think for a few moments. Your thoughts all blurred into one, making the past few days a haze of events.

Gamzee. You were supposed to meet Gamzee at Shelby's. Ugh.

You sit up from your bed, rubbing sleep from your eyes and scrunching up your face in your hands. You stand slowly, body sore, and stretch. The bruises on your skin protest, but your muscles appreciate the movement.

You move about your room, getting dressed, before heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day. You run a brush through your curly red hair, and then poke at the bags under your eyes. They had only shown up recently.

You finish your morning routine, and then head back into your room. You gather up your things, eyes landing on the pile of unwrapped gifts on your desk. You need to wrap those soon. And get something for Sollux. You'll do that after lunch or something. Maybe you'd just drag him out and buy something for him instead. That way he'll get something he likes.

Or maybe you'll just be an ass and purposely get him something lame. You glance at the clock on your bedside table.

SHIT IT'S 11:45! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE AS FUCK.

You run out of the house, racing down the sidewalk. There was no time to wait on the bus.

You walk in the door, only ten minutes late. You look around the dining area, but don't see the mop of messy hair from the other day. Guess you weren't the only one who was late. You seat yourself, waiting for the other boy.

You order just a soda while you wait, flipping through the menu. There was no need for it of course; you had the whole thing memorized. And it's not like you got anything aside from your usual when you came anyway.

You sat around waiting for about fifteen minutes before someone slides into the booth across from you.

"It's about time you got-" Your sentence cuts short as you look up. It was not who you expected to be sitting there at all. Shit, shit, shit.

Sitting across from you, smug grin plastered on his face is none other than Dave Strider.

"Sup Vantas?" He asks; the infliction in his voice was only one you could hear.

"What do you want?" You sneer, hoping to hide the fear in your voice.

"Some big tough guy now?" He asks threateningly, leaning closer to you across the table. You sit back when he does, reestablishing the distance between him and you. "Aww, c'mon Vantas, I won't HURT you or anything." He says, leaning further across.

Your trapped up against the back of the booth, unable to get further away as Dave leans across the small table. He wouldn't dare do anything out here in public would he?

As he leans even closer, you stand up. You couldn't take it. You were probably safer in here than outside, where he could beat you to a pulp, but you just couldn't stand having him right there.

As you hurry towards the door, you hear him calling out.

"Aww, where ya going Karkat?"

You rip the door open, coming face to surprised face with Gamzee. Face to chest rather. You were always shorter than everyone, goddamn.

"Hey, Karkat brother! Sorry I'm late." He said, voice slow and drawling. You glance back over your shoulder at Dave who was now standing from the table and headed in your direction. Shit, shit, SHIT!

"Uhh, Gamzee maybe we should go somewhere else."

"Aww, why?"

"I just think we should." You murmur as Dave approaches you from behind.

"And who's this?" Dave asks from behind you. You push past Gamzee out into the parking lot, and let him introduce yourself. Only, you would, if Dave hadn't laid his hand on your shoulder.

Your whole body goes stiff, muscles tight. Nothing good ever came of Dave touching you.

"Gamzee Makara, bro. You?"

"Strider. Dave Strider."

"Well if it ain't no bother, Karkat and I are gunna sit down and have a bitchtits lunch." Gamzee said, brushing past Dave, and taking you by the wrist as he goes.

"Really now?" Dave replies, tightening his grip on your shoulder. You can feel his fingers digging in to your bruises, and you suppress a grimace.

Gamzee turns and looks at Dave, and you can see something spark in his eyes. He lays his hand on top of Dave's and slowly pulls his fingers away from your skin. You take a step forward, out of Dave's reach and move back to the booth you were at before. Gamzee continues his standoff with Dave for another moment before quietly coming to sit at the table.

The two of you sit in silence for some time, you with your eyes directed at your hands.

"He lays another motherfuckin' hand on you, and he won't have one soon enough." Gamzee mutters underneath his breath. You run a hand through your hair, not knowing how to respond.

Several minutes later, the waitress comes and you place your orders.

"So, got any plans for motherfucking Christmas bro?"

"Nope. Going to Florida for New Years though. Visiting a friend."

"Wicked man. I got nothin' planned. Just chillin' for the break."

"That's nice…" You say, the end of your sentence trailing off quietly. The two of you sit in a none-too-comfortable silence. Dave showing up had really screwed this all up.

"Hey. How long has he been all up on you?" Gamzee asks quietly.

You shrug. "Since the school year began pretty much. But I'm fine. I don't need any help."

"You sure bro? Got no problem with helpin' a motherfucker out."

"No. I don't need it." You snap back.

"Alright! Just offerin'." He says, holding his hands up in an innocent gesture.

About then, the waitress walks back over, a couple plates of food in her hands.

"Tuna melt with hashbrowns?"

"That's me." You say, taking the plate from her.

"And the veggie burger for you." She says, placing the other plate in front of Gamzee. "Anything else you need?"

"I'm fine." You mutter, and Gamzee nods his agreement, as he takes a huge bite from his burger.

"No meat?" You ask as the waitress walks away.

"Nah man. I don't eat fellow animals. Like eatin' one of your motherfuckin' own. Just wrong."

"Hmm." You hum your acknowledgement, picking at your sandwich. You pick it up and take a bite, chewing slowly. You hadn't realized just how tight you were clenching your jaw until now.

You make an effort to loosen your muscles; Dave was gone now.

As you move through your meal, you can feel yourself loosening up. Your jaw was still tight though, no matter what you did. You're surprised you haven't chipped any teeth from it actually. It's becoming a rather common thing.

You poke around at the scraps of food left on your plate with your fork, arranging and rearranging them.

"Well, I have to head out and do some more Christmas shopping. So, I'll see ya when school starts or whatever." You say standing, and leaving cash for your half of the meal.

You push out into the cooler air, and start heading down the sidewalk. At least your closer to the mall now. It's literally across the street from the diner.

Your jerked to a stop as someone grabs you by the shoulder and spins you around.

Oh. Fuck.

Strider had waited for you.

* * *

**Sorry for the sporadic updates! Lately I've been struck with a loss of inspiration, so it make writing that much harder. But I'll try to start working on weekly updates. **


	6. Chapter 6

"So, Gamzee's protecting you now huh?" Dave sneers as he drags you towards his car. Your head whips back and forth over your shoulder as you try to see where Gamzee may be. "Ha, guess he isn't."

Strider pulls the door open, and shoves you into the backseat.

Shit, shit, shit! Where could he be taking you? He moves around to the driver's seat, getting in and locking the doors. He quickly pulls out of the parking lot, driving you away from safety.

You sit quietly in the backseat, knowing what was coming to you, and trying to keep from shaking. What had you done to him? You ask yourself that every time. Do you ever have an answer? No.

You could always unlock the door and jump out… You look out the window and see how quickly the scenery is whipping past. Okay, trash that idea.

Fuck! Where could you be going?

The drive continues on in an antagonizing silence, before Dave turns the car into an empty parking lot. Shit.

You'd make a run for it when he opens the door. Yes, that is your plan.

Strider pulls the door open and steps back out of the way. You move out of the car slowly, making sure you had proper footing for a good getaway. You can see Strider watching you behind his stupid shades, eyes narrowed.

You stand and burst into a fast sprint. That's one thing you have over him, you're small and agile, unlike him, tall, lanky, and (hopefully) uncoordinated.

"You little shit!" You hear Dave shout, as he tears after you. Fuck, he was just as fast as you, if not faster. You throw the last of your energy into your speed, hoping to last just a bit further.

Too bad. Just as you near the edge of the parking lot, Dave tackles you from behind. You slam down onto the concrete, his weight almost tripling the amount flattening you into the ground.

The breath is knocked from your lungs, and your left gasping like a fish out of water. You can feel Dave pulling you up by the back of your shirt, and you slowly catch your feet underneath you, stumbling as your weight is let back onto your own feet.

Your spun around and before you can register what happened, you're laying on the ground again, nose bloody, and Dave's on top of you, beating the shit out of you.

Days like these, you just shut your eyes, and let your body take care of itself, numbing the pain as it goes.

Some time later, whenever it was that Dave got tired of mangling you, you hear his car door slam, and the purr of the engine pulling away. Why didn't he go ahead and run you over? It would have just been easier for both of you.

You lie curled on your side on the concrete, body in extreme pain, bloodied and bruised. You can feel hot tears rolling down your cheeks before you realize you're crying. Dammit Karkat, suck it up. Tears never help.

You push yourself up from the hard ground, and look around, wiping at your bleeding nose with the sleeve of your shirt.

You have NO FUCKING IDEA where you currently are. Great. Now you get to wander around town, looking a mess and covered in blood. Just what you need.

You quickly check your pockets, seeing if there was anything left in them. Your wallet was gone, but your phone was still there. Thank god. You pull it out and scroll through the list of contacts, seeing if there was anyone you could call.

Sollux, but he doesn't have his own car, and you'd rather not have his oaf of a dad come to pick you up.

You select a contact and begin typing up a message.

'When are you coming home?'

'It won't be until later. Why?

Is everything okay?'

You don't bother responding to your father's text.

'Karkat? Son, answer me!

What's wrong?'

'Nothing. Since when do you care anyway?'

'Karkat…'

You sit in silence several moments, reading and rereading through the conversation. Why was he so worried all of a sudden. It was only recently that he'd started the 'concerned parent' spiel.

Your phone beeps, alerting you to a new text.

'Karkat, I'm on my way home now.'

'No! Just stay at work dad. I'll get someone else to pick me up.'

'Pick you up? Karkat, where have you gotten to?'

'ITS NOTHING DAD. JUST STAY AT WORK.'

He doesn't respond. You assume he's on his way home anyway, and that means you need to get back even faster.

You check your contacts again, before selecting call on one.

Three rings, four, five, click.

"Hello?"

"Jade?"

"Karkat! What's up?" Jade exclaims happily.

"Nothing good…" You sigh. "I know this is probably the shittiest timing in the world, but is there any chance you could pick me up?"

She can probably hear the shaking in your voice, the pain, and fear.

"Oh Karkat, was it Dave again?" She asks quietly. "I'm on my way, where are you?"

"Uh, that's the problem, I don't really know."

"What do you mean?"

"Dave just kind of… Dumped me. In this abandoned parking lot. I'll wander around and look for a street sign."

"No, no! Just stay where you are. I think I know where you're at actually. Is there a big oak tree growing randomly in the middle?"

You glance around quickly, looking for the tree she's talking about.

"Uh, yea, there is."

"Great, I'll be there in a few minutes. Just stay put okay?" She asks reassuringly.

"Got it" You murmur, words cut off by you hanging up.

You move across the parking lot and sit on the curb, face buried in your hands. You could feel the layers of blood smeared across your face, adding a slight stick to your skin.

Several minutes later, a car pulls up in front of you, and the doors thrown open. Jade jumps out of the car and rushes around beside you. You look up at her, opening your eyes wider against the swelling muscles, and force a smile as you stand.

She stands looking at you, before throwing her arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug.

'I'm so, SO sorry." She whispers into your ear. You shrug her hands off.

"It's not your fault. Don't be." You mutter going to climb into her car. As usual there's a blanket piled up on your seat, along with a small first aid kit and some 'moist towelettes' to mop up your blood. You sit on the seat, and spend a few moments just cleaning up your face in the rear view mirror before you go anywhere, Jade sitting quietly in the driver seat beside you.

You finish up, and shove the used towels back into their packages. You prod at a bruising cheekbone before sitting back and wrapping up in the blanket.

You feel so small, tucked up in this huge pile of blanket, being eaten alive by the huge seat in Jade's Jeep Wrangler.

"Icecream?" She asks, looking at you sideways before starting the car up.

"Sure. I'll have to pay you back though. The prick stole my wallet too."

* * *

**Yay for terrible portrayals of Dave! **

**And yes, of course Jade drives a Jeep. In lime green too. What else would it be?**

**But so much for those weekly update hm? I would totally love to start doing that, but in my writing i have NO CONSISTANCY. None. So I have the feeling weekly won't be happening. **


	7. Chapter 7

Jade drops you off in front of your house, giving you another awkward hug before leaving. You open the door and make your way up to your bedroom before your dad can get home. The last thing you need is for him to know about this.

You check your face in the bathroom mirror. Your nose had bled a bit more after cleaning it up, and that small amount of blood had dried and crusted around your nostril, and your cheek was swollen. No bruises were showing yet though, which you were rather happy about.

As for the rest of your body though, you can't say the same. You take an aspirin, hoping it will take the swelling down.

You go back to your bedroom, changing your blood stained shirt. Your jeans were fine, with just some dirt smeared on them, nothing unusual. You immediately gather up a load of laundry, so that you're not just washing a single shirt, and load the washing machine as you hear the front door open.

Your hand flies to your cheek, checking the swelling. It hadn't gone down any, but it hadn't gotten any bigger. That was a good sign.

"Karkat?" Your dad's voice calls for you.

"Yea?" You call back, heading downstairs. When you turn the corner, your dad rushes to you.

"What's wrong? Why did you need me?"

"It was nothing I told you that you didn't need to come home. I got Jade to pick me up."

"Pick you up from where?"

"Lunch with a friend. At Shelby's." At least that part was true.

"Who was it?"

"You don't know him."

"Who was it?"

"You don't know him."

"Who was it?"

"Oh my fucking god! You don't god damn know him!"

"Language young man. I'm allowed to be worried about my son and whom he's visiting. Now, what do you want for dinner?"

"I'm not hungry, I only ate about a few hours ago, and Jade and I got ice cream on the way home. You can make something now, but I probably won't eat it now." You begin to head back to your bedroom, you have better things to do.

Christmas is coming up in a few days, and you still have some shopping to finish, and gifts to wrap.

Speaking of shopping, you'd need to haggle some money out of your dad. You can't believe that Strider dick stole your wallet. How are you going to explain that to him...? You left it at the restaurant maybe?

At least you didn't have much in it.

You shut yourself in your room with lots of wrapping paper, tape, and a few boxes. After a frustrating hour and a half, you emerge from your room, poorly wrapped presents stacked on your desk.

You can smell whatever it is that your dad made from your bedroom doorway. It smells like… Well, you don't know what it smells like, but despite not being hungry, it sure smells good.

You walk down into the kitchen, and you can see a pot boiling on the stove. You walk over and lift the lid from the pot, avoiding the puff of steam before peaking into it. Seams to be some sort of stew. Maybe a pot roast?

You replace the lid and go to the living room, where people on the television were chatting away. You round the corner and sure enough, your dad's sitting on the couch, watching another of his annoying game shows.

You go and sit next to him, not even bothering to figure out what he's watching.

"What are you making?"

"I thought you weren't hungry?" He teases.

"I'm not. I just want to know what you made. It smells good."

"It's stew." Your dad says, returning to the television. That's about as much as you're going to get from him tonight.

You return to your bedroom, and the day's events catch up to you. Your body is sore and tired, and you just want to sleep. You strip out of your clothes, falling to your mattress in only your boxers.

You stare at the streetlight shining on your ceiling, and you plunge into a deep sleep. You weren't going to wake up anytime soon.

* * *

**So sorry for the long wait, only to get such a terribly short chapter! I am... horrid, to say the least, with consistency. **


	8. Chapter 8

You wake slowly, over the course of an hour, stirring here and there, rolling around. When you come around enough to sit up, your head sags down on your shoulders. You aren't quite ready to get up yet.

Before rolling over to go back to sleep, you glance at your clock through barely open eyes. Did it say noon? Or maybe 2? You couldn't tell, and to be honest, you couldn't care less. You fall back onto your bed, wrapping up in your comforter.

About two hours later, you sit up, finally awake. You take a proper look at your clock, and GOOD GOD, IT'S FOUR IN THE AFTERNOON!

How did you even sleep that long? You went to bed extremely early as well, so it wasn't as if you were up late. You glance at the date on you clock; tonight was Christmas Eve. You wonder if you're dad will be home early, or if his stupid job will keep him late as usual.

You get up and wander across the hall to the bathroom, brushing your teeth, and getting ready for the day in general. You come back into your room and get dressed, putting on a big, red sweater and your usual blue jeans. Look you were as Christmas-y as you would ever be! You head downstairs into the kitchen, and scrounge around in the fridge.

You settle on an apple, nothing else looking too appealing. You crash on the couch in front of the T.V, and turn on some cartoons. Obviously it was the Christmas specials, but if you didn't know it was Christmas, you probably wouldn't have been able to figure out what was going on… How do kids even like these shows?

About an hour later, you're completely absorbed in the show, and you almost miss the sound of the front door opening.

"Karkat?" Your dad calls, setting his briefcase down by the front door.

"Yeah?" You call back, not paying much attention to him.

"Come put your shoes on, the Leijons have invited us over for dinner."

You don't really want to go anywhere, but you suppose you don't have much choice, with Ms. Leijon being your dads grown-up crush or something.

You walk over and grab your sneakers from the shoe rack by the door, and slip them on as your dad goes upstairs.

"I'm just going to freshen up a bit." He says.

Like you said, huge crush.

You sit back down on the couch, and continue mindlessly watching children's shows. Somewhere about fifteen minutes later, your dad comes back downstairs, in a different shirt and tie, and what's that you smell? Cologne? Damn, he's going all out today.

You follow him out to the car, and get in the passenger seat. As he gets in the car, he stops and looks you over. "You look a lot like your cousin today." He says before starting the car and pulling out of the driveway.

"Don't even say that. That guy is horrible."

"Hey now, I know you two don't get a long, but you should at least TRY and be nice." He scolds you.

"But he's… Kankri. There's no being nice. And he talks SO MUCH."

Your dad just sighs and shakes his head. It was only a short drive to the Leijon's house; they only lived a few streets over.

As you and your dad get out of the car, the front door opens, and a bundle of green comes racing towards you.

"Karkitty!" The small girl squeals, wrapping her arms around your mid section. "I haven't seen you in FOREVER!"

"Hey Nep, it's good to see you too." You say, trying to pry the girl off of you. "And can you not call me that?"

"Hehe, I'll try!" She says, grabbing you by the hand and dragging you inside. "We have presents for you guys! But I think they're for after dinner." A dragging feeling of guilt falls in the bottom of your stomach, you hadn't gotten anything for her. Oh god, what are you going to do. You hear your dad coming in the door accompanied by Ms. Leijon.

"You really didn't have to bring any gifts!" you hear her say, "Little Nepeta just couldn't help but not get something for you guys." You turn to look at your dad with a bag of wrapped boxes in his hand. Oh thank god. Sometimes you really love your dad.

"C'mon!" Nepeta says, tugging you through the kitchen. She stops halfway through the doorway and you run into her back. She slowly inches forward into the room. She was like a cat hunting, head set low, shoulders hunched. She finally walked into the room, glaring at someone. As you walk into the room, you can finally see who it is. Her sister is standing with her back to the room, chopping something up, but you hadn't seen the tall boy standing next to her before. He turns when you walk into the room, smiling. He waves hello, before turning back to what he was doing.

That guy was seriously creepy; no wonder Nep didn't like him. She had hurried into the other room after you had entered the kitchen, so you had to catch up to her. You walk into the family room and find her curled up in the corner of the couch with her drawing pad. You rarely see her without it.

"Who was that?" You ask, sitting down beside her.

"That's Kurloz. He's Meulin's boyfriend. He's even creepier with his makeup on." She mutters.

"Makeup?"

"Yea, he's a juggalo or something. I don't even know. I still can't believe she got back together with him. He's the reason she's deaf!" She raises her voice purposely, ensuring he can hear her.

You remember when it had happened. There was a car accident or something, and it had rendered Meulin deaf. You never found out exactly what had happened, you were afraid to be rude asking. You do remember the week Nepeta had spent at your house after it happened. She didn't want to go home and face the fact that her sister would never be the same.

A figure fills the door, and you turn, seeing the tall boy in the doorway. And did he look angry. His hands move in a blur, and Nepeta jumps up.

"Me!? How is anything that happened MY fault!?" Her voice is a shrill shriek.

There's another flurry of hands and Nepeta's jaw falls open. You could see the sadness fill her eyes, and she shoves him out of the way, running back down the hallway. You stand, and move to face him.

"I have no idea what you said to her, but fuck you." You tell him, pushing past him to go find Nepeta. You feel a hand grab the back of your shirt and oh shit. You'd been in this position so many times, and you were about to get pounded.

The hand turns you around, and you're face to face with Kurloz. Well, not really, considering he was a head taller than you. He was creepily tall and thin. He looks you up and down, leaning closer, looking at your face. Oh god.

He stands back up, and brushes past you silently, returning to help Meulin. Your heart was pounding in your chest, and you were breathing heavy. You head back into the living room, and up the stairs. You knew the Leijon's house as well as you knew your own. When you were younger, Nep and you used to be inseparable, but as you got older you kind of began to branch out. After you went to separate high schools, you had almost completely fallen off. As you reach the top of the stairs you see Ms. Leijon standing in front of Nepeta's door, trying to coax her out.

"Sweetie, what happened? Please let me in so we can talk about it." She turns as you walk down the hallway. "Oh thank goodness, Karkat, can you see if you can convince her to talk? She trusts you more than me."

"Sure." You say as she goes back downstairs. You knock on the door gently, "Nep? Hey, let me in." You hear a small click and you open the door, shutting it behind you and locking it again. You look at her, curled up in a big blanket, tears streaming down her face, and your heart almost breaks. This happy little girl, always so cheerful and helping her friends feel better, in tears.

"Nep…" You say, sitting next to her in her pile of blankets. She didn't even have a bed. Just a nest of blankets. She sits up and wraps her arms around you, clinging tight, and buries her face in your shoulder.

"What did he say Nepeta?"

"He, he…" She pauses, shaking with tears. "He told me it was my fault." Another pause. "My, my fault that Meulin went deaf. That," A small sob, "that if I hadn't gotten into that argument with her, she wouldn't have gone with him." She breaks down, sobbing now. You hug her, softly rubbing her back.

"You know that's not true. How could you have caused something like that?" You say softly. You were so bad at comforting people; this was about all you could do. Rub her back and tell her it wasn't her fault.

About 15 minutes later, her tears had dried up, and she had stopped crying.

"Better now?" You ask as she uncurls from your sweater. She nods her head slowly.

"I really hate him…" She mutters.

"Yea, I do too, and I hardly know him." There was a quiet pause between the both of you. "Dinner's probably ready now. We should probably head back down and get something to eat." You tell her, standing before helping her to her feet. You both walk back downstairs and into the kitchen, where your dad and Ms. Leijon were putting the finishing touches on the meal.

Ms. Leijon hears you enter the room and quickly turns, rushing over to Nepeta and sweeping her up in a crushing hug.

"Oh honey, don't listen to a THING Kurloz tells you." Ms. Leijon hadn't been very happy about Kurloz and Meulin getting back together after the accident either, but could you blame her?

"I know mom." Nepeta mumbles, pushing her mom off of her.

"Well, dinner's almost ready, if you want to go get Meulin. I think they went upstairs to the office."

Nepeta disappears back upstairs and you help set the table. While your placing silverware, Ms. Leijon whispers at you across the room.

"What was it that Kurloz said exactly?"

"From what I understood, he told Nep it was her fault that Meulin was deaf? That if she hadn't gotten in a fight with her that Meulin wouldn't have left with Kurloz."

A look of horror crosses over the woman's face. "I am going to have to have words with him about that."

We finally manage to gather everyone in the kitchen and begin making plates and moving into the dining room. You settle at the table with Nepeta to your right and your dad on your left. You get through the meal in relative silence, the muttered appraisal of the food here and there, and a bit of small talk, but you never joined in.

As the meal comes to an end the conversation picks up some, mainly about school and friends, which you weren't very keen on talking about. For the most part the things you were saying were lies made up on the spot.

Ms. Leijon offered dessert and that went quickly, followed by coffee 'for the adults', and hot chocolate 'for the kids'.

Slowly, everyone moves into the living room from much prodding by Nepeta about opening presents. You can't tell if she was more excited about seeing what she got, or seeing your reaction to what she got you. Knowing Nepeta it was probably the latter.

People were settled all around the room, your dad and Ms. Leijon on the love seat, Meulin cross-legged on the couch, practically in Kurloz's lap, quickly exchanging small hand gestures and laughing, and you and Nepeta sprawled on the floor. Nepeta began passing bags and boxes around, two for Meulin, one for Kurloz, two for herself, one for your dad, two for her mom, and two for you.

You go around, opening the presents one at a time, starting with Nepeta, and ending with you. She quickly tears the paper off of her presents, excited as ever, and opens the boxes. She pulls out an absolutely HIDEOUS cat sweater, some big green abomination with fluffy fur all over the front and lets out a high pitched squeal.

"IT'S PERFECT!" She screeches, rolling her 'r' slightly. In the other box is a pair of small blue mittens, the same color as the hat she's constantly wearing with little kitty faces sewn onto them. They get the same response as the sweater, only slightly quieter.

As people open their boxes and bags, slowly getting to you, Nepeta's looking closer and closer to exploding.

She moves across the room, sitting next to you as you tear the paper off of the smaller box. You pull out two small stuffed toys, each about the size of your hand, a little crab and a cat. The cat was a little peculiar looking, having two mouths.

"I made them!" She squeaks next to you.

"Really? These are… Amazing!" You set them back in the small box and move them off to the side. You open the second box to find a mass of knitted material you pick it up out of the box and hold it up, noticing the little pattern of crabs. You finally realize it was a sweater, which looked to be a bit to big for you, but it was still great.

"I wasn't sure what size you were, so I went a little big. It'll probably shrink too though, so that's always good!" She says, a proud smile on her face.

"These are great Nep, thanks." You tell her, giving her a hug. The small girl almost explodes, squirming with happiness.

After several more minutes of chit chat, your dad announces that 'sadly, it's time for us to leave'. Nepeta 'aw's' trying to convince you to spend the night, but your dad quickly covers for you, telling her that you have to meet family in the morning.

Finally she unlatches from your arm and lets you leave, but not before tackling you with one last hug. As you get in the car, you can see your dad and Ms. Leijon talking. They looked like a couple of middle-schoolers out on their first date. Your dad gives her an awkward hug before returning to the car.

The short car ride home was quiet, and when you got home you took your things and immediately went up to your bedroom. You weren't in the mood to be bombarded by your dad about his feelings for Ms. Leijon.

You open your computer, quickly checking your messages. There didn't seem to be anyone online, and you quickly log back out again. You put away your sweater from Nepeta and set your toys on your desk. You notice that the crab and cat have Cancer and Leo symbols sewn onto them respectively. Nepeta always seemed to know those odd little facts about her friends, like what their astrological signs are.

You change into your pajamas and lie down on your bed, relaxing. Before you knew it, you had slipped into a gentle sleep.

Your dreams that night were okay, nothing unpleasant, yet nothing too nice either. Just… A regular dream.

* * *

_Waaaaah omg im so sorry this chapter took so long! Its not even a good chapter or a long one. But in November it was NaNoWriMo, and then i just kind of fell into writers block/art block in general! And then i've also been falling into a bit of depression and family issues as of late as well, so currently I'm feeling HIGHLY uninspired. I hope you guys can forgive me vuv_

_I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE to try and get these chapter updates under control. as always though, thanks for reading!_


	9. Chapter 9

You wake up the next morning to a loud knock on your door.

"Karkat? You need to wake up. We have to be at the airport in an hour and a half." Your dad calls through the door.

You rub your eyes and sit up.

"I'm up, I'm up!" You shout through the door, trying to stop the knocking. You get dressed quickly before packing your bag. You had a few minutes to spare, so you open your computer and message Terezi on Pesterchum.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC]

CG: LATE NOTICE BUT MY FLIGHT SHOULD BE COMING IN SOMETIME THIS AFTER NOON.

CG: I THINK IT LEAVES AT 12:30.

GC: OK4Y W3LL B3 TH3R3 TO P1CK YOU UP

GC: M4YB3

GC: :]

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

You sigh and shut your computer, picking up your bag and leaving your room. You had checked twice to make sure you had packed Terezi's present. She would never have let you forget it if you had left it here. Even though you would have just mailed it to her.

You meet your dad standing by the front door; he must have been waiting on you. You head outside to the car. The winter air was cool, not quite cold, but not comfortable either. You pull the hood up on your jacket and bury your hands in you pocket while your dad fumbles with the car keys. As he unlocks the car you pull the door open and toss your bag in the backseat before sliding into the passenger seat. Your dad gets in the car and reaches into his jacket, pulling out a small box and handing it to you.

"Merry Christmas son." He says, smiling his gentle smile at you, corner of his eyes crinkling upwards.

You open the small box and inside is a silver charm. You pull it out of the box, dangling it by the chain. The two swirls curved around each other, forming an elegant oval. You undo the clasp and clip the necklace around your neck, tucking the Cancer symbol under your shirt.

"Thanks dad." You tell him, mustering a smile. "Oh! Let me get you yours." You say, jumping out of the car. You had almost forgotten.

You quickly run back into the house, up to your bedroom. You grab the package off your desk and jog back to the car. You hand it to him and he opens it, studying it a few moments. Did he like it? You couldn't tell. His face was stony and plain.

You notice the corners of his mouth creeping upwards before he bursts into his throaty laugh, and you sigh a small sigh of relief. He tucks it back into the box safely before setting it on the backseat, putting the car into gear and backing out of the driveway.

It was about a half hour drive to the airport, and your dad plays bad pop radio the entire way there. You lazily stare out of the window; it would be nice to see Terezi again. You think back to the last time you had seen her. Was it summer of last year or the year before last? You couldn't even remember, and that was a sign that it had been too long. You just wished she didn't live so far away. It makes seeing each other a bit hard.

Your dad pulls into the huge parking deck, and eventually finds a space. You grab your bag and get out of the car, your dad following. You head into the huge building, tons of other people packing tight through the doorway.

Everyone was travelling for New Years or going back home after Christmas. Everything after that becomes a blur of people rushing past and trying to catch up to your dad as he clears room through the crowds.

Once you reach the terminal, you turn and wave at your dad one last time before boarding the plane. It takes you several minutes of wandering before figuring out the order of the seats and finding your own, and when you finally do; you shove your single bag into the overhead and plop down in your seat, relieved to be out of the crowds.

You had managed to get the window seat, and you gaze lazily out of it, watching the people hurrying around on the tarmac below. You had flown before, but you weren't very comfortable in the air. At least you don't get sick or anything. The plane fills slowly, and after about 15 minutes you find that your seatmate was a younger child, maybe nine or ten. He stares at you curiously when he sits next to you, ignoring his mother fussing over him. You glance at him from the corner of your eye, slightly weirded out by the staring.

You return your gaze to the window as the pilot speaks over the intercom, explaining what to do in the event of an emergency. You just kind of tune it all out, it was an hour and a half flight, hardly anything could go wrong on it. You hope. Slowly the plane begins taxiing down the runway and soon enough you're in the air on the way to Florida.

* * *

_wow okay stupidly short chapter holy cow im sorry this is just a filler though, so the next few chapters should pick up some? this is literally not even 2 pages im so ashamed omg_


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